Acts 15 - Peter Or James

[ICTHUS]

The Council at Jerusalem

1Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." 2This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 3The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad. 4When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.

5Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."

6The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

12The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13When they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me. 14Simon[1] has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. 15The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

16" 'After this I will return

and rebuild David's fallen tent.

Its ruins I will rebuild,

and I will restore it,

17that the remnant of men may seek the Lord,

and all the Gentiles who bear my name,

says the Lord, who does these things'[2]

18that have been known for ages.[3]

19"It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."

The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers

22Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. 23With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. 24We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul-- 26men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.

30The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. 33After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them.[4] 35But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas

36Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing." 37Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

(Me)

My question, therefore, is this: In Acts 15, it is clearly St. JAMES, not St. Peter, that makes the binding decision. So, firstly, how do you explain this in light of the fact that St. Peter is the "head holy guy" of the Apostles and the man in charge...shouldn't he be making the decision, not James?

And what does this do against the Primacy of Peter??

[ICTHUS]

Ryan just had a brainwave.

The Church teaches that a Bishop is infallible provided that he teaches in union with the teachings of the Bishop of Rome, right?

St. James taught in union with St. Peter...which doesn't do anything to damage St. Peters infallibility..

[jasJis]

Even better. Since there was no New Testament Scripture in existence yet, it shows the abiding of the Holy Spirit in the Church. It shows Church Structure as an Institution. It show the HS working through Peter (preaching to the Gentiles), Peter reminding them what the HS has done already (steering the Barque with Tradition), and also showing that James, as Bishop, manifests the gifts of the Spirit (Wisdom and Discernment). All together to validate and pass on as Tradition what the HS manifested through Paul and Barnabas in order that that serve to teach others in the Church.

I see the whole Institute of the Church and the understanding of Catholics in this passage. I never looked at it that way until your second post. Good job ICTHUS!!!

[cmotherofpirl]

Remember infallibility is a negative thing.

As long as James got it right, Peter does not have to intervene.

He is the rudder, not the oars.

[Katholikos]

St. James was Bishop of Jerusalem. But,

QUOTE

"St. Peter, not St. James presided at the Council of Jerusalem. The question at issue was whether the Gentiles were bound to obey the Mosaic law. . .

"St. Peter spoke first and decided the matter without hesitation, declaring that the Gentile converts were not bound by the Mosaic law. He claimed to exercise authority in the name of his special election by God to receive the Gentiles (Acts 15:7) and he severely rebuked those who held the opposite view (Acts 15:10). After he had spoken 'all the multitude held their peace' (Acts 15:12). Those who spoke after him merely confirmed his decision, mentioning like Paul and Barnabas the miracles wrought by God on their missionary journeys, or suggesting, like James, that the Gentiles respect the scruples of the Jewish converts, by abstaining from the things they detested."

". . . James gave no special decision on the question, but merely expressed the views that had been adopted at the meeting spoken of in Galatians 2:6. Moreover, the decree is attributed to the Council of Apostles and Presbyters, assisted by the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:28, 16:4) and not to James personally."

UNQUOTE

Quoted from "The Question Box" by Rev. Bertrand L. Conway (an old but favorite book printed in 1929).

Ave Cor Mariae, Katholikos

[ICTHUS]

St. James was Bishop of Jerusalem.

Where do you get this??

[Anna]

A little thing called history, ICTHUS.

Since our Church is over 2,000 years old, and was founded by Christ Himself, we are able to trace our Popes and bishops all the way back to Peter and the Apostles.

James the Less, aka the "brother" of Jesus, son of Alpheus, was bishop of Jerusalem until roughly 60 AD.

Pax Christi. <><

Edited October 12, 2003 by Anna

[Katholikos]

Where do you get this??

"All that time most of the apostles and disciples, including James himself, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, known as the Lord's brother, were still alive . . ." Eusebius, Bishop of Caesaria, History of the Church from Christ to Constantine, written c. 312 A.D., translated by G.A. Williamson, Dorset Press, N.Y., 1984, p. 118

"The throne of James -- who was the first to receive from the Savior and His Apostles the episcopacy of the Jerusalem church, and was called Christ's brother, as the sacred books show -- has been preserved to this day. The Christians there, who in their turn look after it with such loving care, make clear to all the veneration in which saintly men high in the favour of God were regarded in time past and are regarded to this day." Eusebius, ibid, p. 302

"James the Righteous reigned as bishop of Jerusalem for more than thirty years, and interacted frequently with Peter and Paul." The Twelve, The Lives of the Apostles After Calvary," by C. Bernard Ruffin, Our Sunday Visitor, 1997, p. 80.

Oremus pro invicem, Katholikos

[Katholikos]

More light on James (I hope):

QUOTE

Immediately after the Ascension, James became one of the most important officers in the Church. Clement of Alexandria records that "Peter, James the Great, and John, after the Ascension of the Savior, did not claim pre-eminence because the Savior had specially honored them, but chose James the Righteous as the Bishop of Jerusalem." He further states that along with Peter and John, James the Righteous was entrusted by the Risen Lord with "the higher knowledge" which they imparted to the other apostles and the other apostles to the Seventy."

". . . It must be remembered that in the early days, members of the Christian Church in Palestine kept the Jewish law in its entirety. Children were circumcised, rules of ritual purification were observed, the Sabbath (sundown Friday to sundown Saturday) was kept as a day of rest, and Christians went to the temple for morning and afternoon prayers. James was very much in favor of this. When he heard that his fellow convert Paul was telling gentile converts that they need not be circumcized or abide by the various rituals and regulations, he "hit the cieling." At the Council of Jerusalem, James was persuaded by Peter to decree a policy for the universal Church that no irksome restrictions were to be imposed on gentile converts.

James, however, remained determined not to lose his Jewishness in embracing Christ. That is why, even after the Council of Jerusalem, he attacked Peter at Antioch for "living like a gentile." Paul himself had to make concessions to the formidable bishop of Jerusalem. In A.D. 58, Paul arrived in Jerusalem and told James of his own continuing success among the gentiles, only to have the crusty bishop point out that many of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem were enraged by the fact that Paul was supposedly telling Jewish converts to "turn their backs on Moses" and forego circumcision for their children. James called Paul on the carpet and ordered him "to do as we tell you." He ordered Paul to undergo the rite of purification so that "everyone will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you follow the law yourself with due observance" (Acts 21:24). Paul did not argue. Nobody argued with James the Righteous. Paul obeyed.

One should not critize James the Righteous as a man who was imperfectly converted. He sincerely wanted to conserve what was valuable in Judaism as well as embrace the "new way." He was very much concerned about winning converts from the Jews of Jerusalem and also in preventing violent persecution. The Middle East was just as violent ...in the first as in the twentieth century. (text continues).

END QUOTE

Source: The Twelve, The Lives of the Apostles After Calvary, by C. Bernard Ruffin, Our Sunday Visitor, 1997, p. 82-83

Oremus pro invicem, Katholikos

[Anna]

Catholic Online Saints

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=356

St. James the Lesser

Feastday: May 3

St. James the Less, the author of the first Catholic Epistle, was the son of Alphaeus of Cleophas. His mother Mary was either a sister or a close relative of the Blessed Virgin, and for that reason, according to Jewish custom, he was sometimes called the brother of the Lord. The Apostle held a distinguished position in the early Christian community of Jerusalem. St. Paul tells us he was a witness of the Resurrection of Christ; he is also a "pillar" of the Church, whom St. Paul consulted about the Gospel.

According to tradition, he was the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and was at the Council of Jerusalem about the year 50. The historians Eusebius and Hegesippus relayed that St. James was martyred for the Faith by the Jews in the Spring of the year 62, although they greatly esteemed his person and had given him the surname of "James the Just."

Tradition has always recognized him as the author of the Epistle that bears his name. Internal evidence based on the language, style, and teaching of the Epistle reveals its author as a Jew familiar with the Old Testament, and a Christian thoroughly grounded in the teachings of the Gospel. External evidence from the early Fathers and Councils of the Church confirmed its authenticity and canonicity.

The date of its writing cannot be determined exactly. According to some scholars it was written about the year 49 A.D. Others, however, claim it was written after St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans (composed during the winter of 57-58 A.D.). It was probably written between the years 60 and 62 A.D.

St. James addresses himself to the "twelve tribes that are in the Dispersion," that is, to Christians outside Palestine; but nothing in the Epistle indicates that he is thinking only of Jewish Christians. St. James realizes full well the temptations and difficulties they encounter in the midst of paganism, and as a spiritual father, he endeavors to guide and direct them in the faith. Therefore, the burden of his discourse is an exhortation to practical Christian living.

Pax Christi. <><

[goldenchild17]

If you would notice James spoke about what Simon(Peter) described. Peter was still the leader of the meeting(and of the Church for that matter.)